Bronya felt boiling blood surging through her brain. Her blood pressure was about to burst through her forehead, jolting her entire being awake.
Originally, after leaving Ron's room, she had swayed back to her own, flopped onto the bed, and fallen into a sweet dreamland.
She never expected that not long after falling asleep, she would be awakened by the cold notification sound of the Life Simulation Game, prompting her to join the game or choose to use the AI proxy.
Having just suffered a loss due to the AI proxy, how could Bronya possibly choose it again? She unhesitatingly climbed out of bed, fighting against the waves of drowsiness, and forced herself to start this run of the game.
And then she began to wonder what Belobog curse word this game had to do with her.
Right at the start of the game, the simulation prompted her to choose an action. Considering she hadn't rested in a long time, she chose to rest for a bit, deciding to max out her character's stats on the second day of the simulation before taking control...
But the result was that just before dawn, while still half-asleep, she was groggily ambushed by Seele and tied up tight.
Just as she was about to resist, she was hypnotized by a mysterious person, falling into a deep sleep along with Seele, who had failed in her attempt to steal the chicken only to lose the rice. She had absolutely no room to maneuver.
By the time the in-simulation hypnosis ended and her character woke up again, she received the news that Ron had been abducted by Natasha...
So why on earth did things turn out this way?!
Bronya sat on her bed, subconsciously clenching the soft quilt.
The quilt from the Goethe Grand Hotel was torn open by her subconscious force, the soft filling spilling out. Her face was extremely gloomy, a clear sign of the raging fire in her heart.
She pressed her forehead, closed her eyes, and slowly calmed herself down:
'Calm down, Bronya, calm down! You are the future Supreme Guardian of Belobog. You have faced so many setbacks and have successfully overcome them every time. You cannot lose control of your emotions over this one thing...'
But when she recalled the image of Seele ambushing her on the screen, the anger shot straight back to her heart:
'But... it's so infuriating! I really want to, in the name of the Architects, shove the tip of my spear into Seele's nostrils!'
Bronya mentally launched a "gentle as a spring breeze" level of feeble attack at Seele with all her might, venting her dissatisfaction and calming herself down.
'No, I can't, don't be hasty... Ron has only just joined Natasha's faction. He's not completely locked in yet. I still have many opportunities...'
After calming down for a while, the anger and the hidden trace of panic in her eyes faded away, leaving only a hint of determination.
It was a fact that Ron had been taken by Natasha, but so what?
This time, it wasn't some AI proxy; it was her controlling the game herself!
The last simulation was one thing. Seele had indeed forged a new path and, together with Ron, successfully preserved Belobog in another way, but...
What did Natasha have? She was just a doctor in the Underworld!
Can studying medicine save Belobog?
She refused to believe it! A loyal Silvermane Guard like Ron, who would lay down his life to preserve Belobog, would betray her for a mere doctor!
With this thought, Bronya completely ignored Seele, who had also been hypnotized but had not yet woken up, and controlled her game character to leave the Goethe Grand Hotel.
She was going to Natasha's clinic right now to snatch Ron back!
And at the same time—
[Ron has become your assistant.]
Natasha looked at the line of text on the light screen, a "just as planned" smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
Everything that happened today was no coincidence. It was a plan she had meticulously crafted to lure Ron in.
As the founder of Wildfire and the leader who maintained stability in the entire Underworld, Natasha had always understood one principle—
What others can give is not the key. Fulfilling one's own desires is the most important urge in everyone's heart.
To bring Ron completely under her command, she naturally had to first act like a fisherman, using what Ron desired most to attract him and hook him to her side.
Thinking back to every previous simulation where Ron appeared as a hero, always walking the correct path to save Belobog and contributing his strength to save the world, it was clear that his heart and soul were dedicated to saving Belobog.
Thus, "Snowstorm Immunity," which could completely eliminate the cold and allow humans to survive in the snow, would absolutely attract Ron's attention and genuinely interest him.
However, just piquing Ron's interest was far from enough to achieve Natasha's goal of bringing him under her command.
So she had made other preparations—such as temporarily eliminating Bronya, Ron's fixed superior, letting her fall into a deep sleep so she couldn't influence Ron's autonomous actions.
What puzzled Natasha, however, was that when she was tossing the hypnotic drug into Bronya's room, Seele, who shouldn't have had much contact with Bronya, was ambushing her...
She never understood why, but looking at the notes on the screen now, she felt there was no need to pursue the reason anymore.
She had thought that after luring Ron over with the "Cold-Dispelling Medicine," she would have to spend a great deal of effort to persuade him to become Wildfire's acting commander and help her manage the Underworld. But unexpectedly, Ron himself was so interested in the Path of [The Abundance] that he directly became her assistant...
Although it didn't fully accomplish Natasha's goal, it was basically more than halfway there—
After all, Ron's knowledge and talent wouldn't diminish just because he became her assistant. If Wildfire ran into any difficult problems, as long as she asked him, as her assistant, there was no way Ron wouldn't help her.
As long as this could be achieved, the future of Wildfire and the Underworld, and even the entire Belobog, would have a certain guarantee with Ron's presence.
Even better, if Ron's aptitude for medicine was good enough, he might even be able to help her develop the complete "Snowstorm Immunity" after learning from her...
This was killing two birds with one stone!
Thinking this, Natasha tapped the screen in front of her, watching as more notes continued to appear:
[After becoming your assistant, Ron immediately asked to learn the skill: "Introduction to Medicine."]
[Do you wish to teach Ron the "Introduction to Medicine" course?]
Ron is really interested in medicine, huh? I never noticed in the previous simulations...
Natasha thought to herself, tapping the screen to select 'Yes' and watching the simulation continue:
[You briefly taught Ron the "Introduction to Medicine" course.]
[Ron's skill: "Medicine" experience has increased.]
[Due to Ron's talent "Peerless Genius," Ron's skill "Medicine" experience has received a large additional increase.]
Huh??
Natasha stared at the text on the screen, momentarily finding it incredible.
Ron... is he really such a fast learner?
She continued to control her simulation character, choosing to teach Ron...
...
[You received Natasha's free instruction. Your skill "Medicine" experience has increased.]
[You received...]
[You...]
Ron watched the experience notes scrolling on the screen, feeling a little emotional.
He never would have thought that besides leading troops to grind monsters for combat experience, another skill could gain experience so quickly...
Natasha was practically his fated star of fortune. Looking at this skill leveling speed, according to Ron's own estimation, he could probably complete his apprenticeship in this simulation in just another half a month or so.
I didn't expect there to be this kind of apprenticeship gameplay. I never tried it in the previous simulations... If becoming an apprentice can rapidly increase skill experience, wouldn't it be easy to grind other Paths too?
For example, by apprenticing under Clara or Serval and learning about mechanical engineering, he might have a chance to set foot on the Path of [The Erudition] after a period of grinding.
Thinking about it this way, there were still many more operations to try in the Life Simulation Game. The previous method of just grinding monsters to level up was too crude. No wonder he could never clear the game. He was still too much of a noob...
Ron thought to himself, watching as new notes appeared on the screen:
[As time passed, you have spent a full day at Natasha's clinic.]
[Your skill "Medicine" level has increased—Lv.13]
[You are still eager to learn and want to ask Natasha for more guidance.]
[But Natasha shook her head wearily, saying she was completely drained.]
[She told you that you have almost mastered all the theoretical knowledge. The next step is to put it into practice.]
[She told you to come back to the clinic tomorrow. She will teach you how to face the patients in the clinic, how to diagnose and treat these poor people, and develop new medicines with you.]
[You have completed a full day of medical studies. You have gained one point of Path progress.]
[Currently, your progress on the [The Abundance] Path is—(1/10)]
[Continuing to act as Natasha's assistant will help increase your Path progress. When your Path progress reaches its maximum value, you will automatically set foot on the Path of [The Abundance].]
Seeing the text on the screen, Ron immediately became energized.
Just one day of grinding medical experience for one point of Path progress? Then he would only need nine more days to set foot on the Path of [The Abundance]...
Based on his experience from the last simulation, even if he went all out, it would take two or three years before he had to fight the Doomsday Vanguard. This was enough time for him to grind his [The Abundance] Path level high enough.
The text on the screen dimmed, and new notes appeared:
[You thanked Natasha for her teachings and prepared to leave.]
[Suddenly, the door to Natasha's clinic was pushed open with some excitement. You cast your gaze over and saw a familiar figure—]
[Your old boss, Bronya Rand, is walking towards you.]